Alinea and Eleven Madison Park collaboration in the works

Kevin PangTribune reporter

Watch the cryptic video above. We came across this today, featuring the teams at Alinea and New York's Eleven Madison Park, suggesting something major is in the works between two of the country's most acclaimed restaurants.

In it, the kitchen staff at Eleven Madison Park is seen packing their equipment and heading to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Alinea’s staff, too, packs everything into boxes (including its head chef).

Perhaps we can extrapolate some information from the secret project name: 21st Century Limited. It's a reference to the 20th Century Limited, a luxury passenger train that ran between New York and Chicago during the first half of the 20th century. Chicago to New York. New York to Chicago.

Another clue to consider: On Alinea's ticket schedule site, it notes of the restaurant closing Oct. 10 through 14 for a private event. Let the speculating begin.

When reached about the video, Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz told the Tribune, albeit vaguely: "We're excited to be working on a project with Will (Guidara), chef (Daniel) Humm and the entire team at EMP."

Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm and general manager Will Guidara were equally coy: "We've spent the last two years thinking how we can collaborate with them. We respect them so much. We’re so happy we've finally found a way."

Both restaurants boast three Michelin stars, a bevy of James Beard Foundation Awards, and were neck-and-neck in this year's San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant List (Alinea was No. 7, Eleven Madison Park ranked 10th). For two restaurants working in an industry that validates itself with numbers of stars and medals, their relationship — they say — is anything but competitive. Last November, The Aviary (owned by Alinea group) hosted a party to unveil Eleven Madison Park's new cookbook.

"We always make a point to spend time with Will and Daniel," Achatz said. "We always hang out together. We're good friends."